Pine Bark Can Help Diabetic Retinopathy Treatment

You might have heard of the funny name Pycnogenol., and it has been around for quite some time gaining major prominence in the mid and late ninties. But this little extract from the bark of pine trees has been shown to improve microcirculation, retinal edema and visual activity in patient who show signs of diabetic retinopathy.

Retinopathy is damage to the retinas in the eyes due to leaky blood vessels and is the major cause of blindness in diabetics as well as one of the most feared diabetic complications.

A controlled study conducted by G D’Annunzio University in Italy investigated 46 diabetic patients over a three month period and included 24 patients who got the Pycnogenol treatment and the other 22 patients given the placebo treatment.

“Previous research has shown that Pycnogenol may reduce the progressing advanced stages of diabetic retinopathy,” said Dr. Robert Steigerwalt, part of the study’s administrative group. “While previous studies focused on the latent stages of diabetic retinopathy, the aim of this new study was to show the protective effects of Pycnogenol in the early stages of this growing diabetic complication.”

Dr. Steigerwalt went on to say: “Our study suggests that Pycnogenol taken in the early stages of retinopathy may enhance retinal blood circulation accompanied by a regression of edema, which favourably improves vision of patients.”